


Overwhelmed

by nackledamia



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, jeffmads - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 20:23:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12872304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nackledamia/pseuds/nackledamia
Summary: James and Thomas are vampire hunters. Thomas was bitten by a vampire. He tries to protect James from his new thirst.





	Overwhelmed

_The vampire had Thomas locked in a chokehold. Thomas shivered in its grip; these cold-blooded creatures had no sense of decency. A cold naked body pressed against Thomas’ back made his skin prickle with goosebumps. The vampire smiled, thin lips peeled back to reveal unnatural fangs._

_Thomas should have listened to James. He should have waited for reinforcements. He shouldn’t have tried to take on an entire clan of vampires by himself._

_Now here he was, at the mercy of this vampire, waiting for someone to save him._

_”There’s nothing more beautiful than watching a hunter turn into what they despise,” the vampire whispered, mouthing his neck. Thomas shuddered at the way the vampire’s fangs grazed his skin._

_”You won’t be around to see that; my husband will take care of it,” Thomas snarled._

_”Will he be around to take care of you when I turn you into one of us?”_

_“I’d rather die than be one of you.”_

_“When you’re one of us, it’s going to be pretty hard to die.”_

Thomas jerked up in bed, breathing heavily, reaching his hand up to cover the raised scar on his neck. It pulsed uncomfortably under his touch.

A week had passed since Thomas’ capture and rescue. He had nightmares every night since, but this was the first night phantom pain burned with the memory of his mistake.

The vampire had just plunged its fangs into his neck when the door burst open and fellow hunters gunned down the vampire holding him hostage. The vampire dropped to the ground and Thomas zipped his jacket up to hide the bleeding wound on his neck. He assured everyone he was fine and was given a gun; told to do his job properly.

He had been, after all, a vampire hunter for many years. He should not have made such a rookie mistake.

Everyone had forgotten about his bite by the time they successfully cleansed the building of vampires.

Thomas had cleaned up the wound himself and it had scarred over like any usual injury. He hadn’t thought much of it since.

He wasn’t infected, was he?

He wasn’t turning into one of _them_ , was he?

“Thomas?” James stirred awake, his voice soft with fatigue. Thomas turned to him as James reached up and tugged on his arm. “Nightmares again?”

“Sorry,” Thomas apologised, dry voice emerging as a croak, settling back under the covers.

“You’re safe now,” James assured, pulling Thomas closer and resting his head against Thomas’ chest as Thomas draped an arm around James’ shoulders.

“Thanks, honey,” Thomas kissed his forehead.

“You’re so cold,” James muttered, distinctly shivering in Thomas’ arms, before promptly falling asleep again.

Thomas tried not to read too deeply into what James had just said. He wasn’t turning into one of those cold-blooded creatures.

It was just his nightmare that was scaring him. He was only wearing a singlet and it was just the cool breeze blowing at him all night through the open window that made him cold.

He was _not_ turning into one of those cold-blooded monsters.

He just had to distract himself from these disturbing thoughts. Something rhythmic to lull him back into slumber.

Perhaps the ticking of the clock.

Or the hoot of the owls.

Or James’ heartbeat.

The moment he made himself aware of that, James’ heartbeat became all he could hear.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

James was so close and so warm. Thomas snuggled lower under the covers and leaned down to bury his head in James’ neck, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

The sweet scent of coppery blood made his gums tingle in response. Just a prick, and he could reach a satisfying drink hiding underneath layers of skin-

Thomas pulled himself away from James, scrambling out of bed. James didn’t even notice; grunting and rolling over in his sleep.

Thomas dragged himself to the window for some fresh air, his mind pounding, his stomach growling, his gums itching.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

Thomas swallowed, raising his hands to cover his ears. It didn’t silence the sound of James’ heartbeat.

He really _was_ turning into a vampire, wasn’t he?

He was already experiencing bloodlust.

He could control his bloodlust at this point in time.

How much longer could he control himself?

\------

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

It was all he could hear.

It became louder; insistent.

He could see the throbbing veins on the neck; tempting.

His senses of sight and smell were growing sharper.

Thomas tried to act normal, tried to function normally.

He could still stomach food, but it didn’t fill his needs, didn’t sate his thirst.

At the weekly hunter meetings, Thomas lost himself in a daze as he listened to the quickened heartbeats of agitated hunters who believed that Thomas’ lack of focus was due to his trauma of being held hostage.

 _“Who knows what they did to him before we arrived?”_ Thomas heard someone say and he blinked to focus on concerned faces looking at him. James took his hand and Thomas turned to him, his eyes drifting from James’ comforting smile to his enticing neck, the only separation between him and his meals.

It wasn’t normal to look at other humans and think of them as a tasty snack.

He wasn’t normal anymore.

“Thomas, you look different,” James said one day, raising an eyebrow at him. They had been tipped about a vampire gathering at a nearby bar and they were heading out to meet the other hunters. Thomas looked down at his usual hunting uniform- black shirt, black jeans, black boots and a black leather jacket. It was standard; they all wore black for hunting missions.

He looked exactly the same as always.

“What did you change?” James asked.

He didn’t change anything, he just _seemed_ more attractive. He had gained what the hunters termed ‘The Vampire Charm’. It was used to lure prey in.

“This is my final form,” Thomas moved towards James, taking his hands, curling his words with an emphasis on his southern drawl in an attempt to sound more flirty. It must have worked, or maybe it was the help of his new vampire charm, but a rare blush reddened James’ cheeks.

“Stop,” James complained, but he was smiling and Thomas relished every chance to see James smile.

Thomas kissed James on the lips, then trailed kisses down to his neck. He allowed himself a deep inhale- his stomach lurched with raw, burning hunger- before he pulled away and returned James’ smile.

“Let’s go,” Thomas gestured towards their front door.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

\-------

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

It was so distracting.

Thomas couldn’t concentrate on anything when James was in the same room as him.

It wasn’t James’ fault, it was all his fault.

His fault for getting bitten. His fault for not checking if the bite was infected. His fault for not seeking help when he first noticed his vampirism.

Now, it was too late to stop it. Stop him.

He was a monster.

“Thomas, you alright?” James called out, worry in his voice.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

James must have noticed the way Thomas was trembling in his seat, his fingers gripping the pen too tightly to write.

“I’m fine,” Thomas managed to say, words forced through gritted teeth.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

It was so loud. It was so overwhelming. He could stop the distraction if he would just reach out and… and sink his fangs into his… his neck…

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

Thomas was so fucking _hungry_.

“Are you sure?” James asked again. He had stood up from the couch and was moving towards Thomas.

Thomas shut his eyes, clenching his fists. The pen broke in his grip. A hand on his shoulder; James was right next to him. James was so close. He could just reach out… and…

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

“I can’t… I can’t get any work done with you here,” Thomas finally snapped, shrugging James’ hand off his shoulder and standing up.

Thomas was taller than James, but James was larger. James drew himself up to his full intimidating height.

“Why? Am I distracting you? Am I distracting you by being here? Do you want me to go away?” James snapped back, taking Thomas’ words the wrong way.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

“Yes,” Thomas pleaded, his voice cracking with the effort he was using to hold himself back. James was so close… Thomas didn’t know how much longer he could hold himself back.

“Are you bored of me? Is this what this is about? After 10 years of marriage, you want to leave and find someone new. Is this what this is about?” James raised his voice and Thomas winced with his sharpened hearing.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

“No,” Thomas whispered back, his eyes brimming with tears. He didn’t want to hurt James. _Please_ , he just didn’t want to hurt the love of his life. He was _so close_... his stomach was burning with hunger, his fangs scratching his gums as they pushed themselves out.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

“I knew it! I knew it; you have been so distracted lately. Who is it? Who is this person you’re cheating on me with?” James shouted.

Thomas winced again, fangs digging into his lower lip as he kept his mouth shut, his fingers balled in a fist, his entire body trembling. He needed to get out before he did something he would regret his entire immortal life.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

“ _Who is it_?!” James screamed.

Thomas turned and bolted out of the house.

\------

Thomas found himself on the doorstep of Burr’s house. Burr was the vampire hunter that introduced James and Thomas to this lifestyle. He was much more experienced than them. Thomas would show Burr his protruded fangs and ask Burr to kill him. Burr would do so with no hesitation.

Thomas rather die than ever risk hurting James.

“Thomas?” Burr opened his door, rubbing his eyes. He was dressed in a nightgown, preparing for bed. “It’s late, what do you need?”

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

“I…” Thomas tried to say, Burr’s heartbeat distracting him from his thoughts. A quick glance over indicated that Burr was unarmed. He didn’t see Thomas as a threat; he was unprepared for a strike.

Thomas could reach out and grab Burr. He would be helpless in Thomas’ strong grip. Just like Thomas was helpless in the vampire’s strong grip. Rule number one: never let a vampire have the upper hand.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

Thomas swallowed and shook his head.

“I-” Thomas tried to say again, but he caught a whiff of the aroma of Burr’s blood and clenched his fists even harder, nails tearing into his palm.

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

“Can it wait for tomorrow morning? You can come in and crash on my couch, if you like,” Burr offered, gesturing behind him.

_An invitation to enter._

_He was so hungry._

“I’m sorry,” Thomas whispered.

“What do you-” Burr’s sentence was cut short as Thomas reached forward and grabbed his head with both hands, twisting quickly and effectively.

Burr crumpled to the ground and Thomas fell to his knees beside Burr, pulling the body into his lap. Thomas sank his fangs into Burr’s neck and let the sweet, sweet taste of overdue blood fill his long unsated thirst.

Gulp after gulp, coppery blood teased all of his taste buds. It tasted like everything, yet nothing, all at the same time. It was strange, addictive and refreshing and Thomas couldn’t stop.

When Thomas finally lifted his head from the drained body, the silence was almost deafening. Why was it so quiet? The lack of a heartbeat dawned on Thomas exactly what he had just done.

“Burr,” Thomas whispered, dropping the body he was gripping in his hands and standing up. He had killed Burr. He had given in to the monster within him. He was _the_ monster.

Thomas stood up with the help of the door frame. His knees shook beneath him as he turned away from the body and the house, facing the main road.

His only instinct was _run_ , but he stopped at the sight of James in their car parked outside Burr’s house, staring at him with haunted eyes and his jaw agape as though Thomas was a monster.

Thomas _was_ a monster.

James must have chased after him in the car, following him all the way to Burr’s house.

Did he see the way Thomas killed Burr? Did he see the way Thomas sucked Burr dry? Did he see the way Thomas had attempted to flee the crime scene?

“James,” Thomas whispered.

James scrambled within the junk in their car and reached out through the open window with a gun pointed at Thomas.

It wasn’t just any gun. It was a hunter’s gun, model TJ-0003. It shot wooden bullets that exploded within the body. Thomas would know; he designed that very gun.

“You’re not Thomas,” James whispered, his voice breaking.

“James,” Thomas repeated, taking a step towards him with his arms up in surrender. He was unarmed.

James cocked the gun in response.

“YOU’RE NOT THOMAS!” James screamed.

Thomas closed his eyes, allowing cold tears to streak down his cheeks.

James was right. He wasn’t Thomas. He was a monster.

“Kill me,” Thomas swallowed. This would be the right way to end it. For James to end his immortal torture.

James’ finger trembled against the trigger. He was hesitating. There was a glimmer of hope in James’ wet eyes. Thomas knew what he was thinking of. _Maybe there was a way to cure vampirism_.

There was no way to cure vampirism.

“KILL ME!” Thomas yelled and James pulled the trigger.

James, with his perfect aim, had the wooden bullet tearing through Thomas’ impenetrable skin and settling right in the depth of his heart.

Thomas fell to the ground as the bullet exploded, splinters digging into every corner of his heart. Thomas could feel his body attempting to knit itself back around the splinters but there was one thing a vampire couldn’t heal from and that was wooden splinters.

Thomas almost laughed at the ridiculous limitation of vampires.

James had emerged from the car and was kneeling beside him. James was crying. It broke Thomas’ heart further to see James cry.

“James, I’m so sorry, I love you,” Thomas used all his remaining energy to gasp those words out. He tried to reach for James, to hold his hand, touch him, or whatever; James shifted out of his grip and Thomas’ hand flopped back to the ground.

“You’re not Thomas,” James repeated and Thomas nodded. He understood. It would be easier for James to let go if he hadn’t just killed Thomas, but another stupid vampire.

He had protected James from himself. If there’s one thing Thomas regretted, it was his inability to protect James from other vampires. James was all alone now.

Thomas closed his eyes, awaiting death.

“I love you too, Thomas,” Thomas heard James’ broken whisper before the feeling of absolute nothingness washed over him.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you enjoyed this story?


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